While working as a Nurse Administrator in a trauma center in Saudi Arabia, Elizabeth had the opportunity to visit a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan. While she was there she observed a surgeon who had just arrived from the operating room; he began to treat a man’s wound with a used bandage, wiped his hands onto his blood-stained, cloth scrubs then continued onto the next patient. It was clear that this hospital lacked even basic supplies such as linens, gauze, gloves, bandages, or tape. Nurses were using glass syringes and reusable metal needles. Sinks were not available to wash one’s hands. As she stood there in the middle of what could only be considered chaos, she thought to herself, "Someday, when I go  home, I'm going to do something about this."

 

In 2007, she did just that. Elizabeth began gathering discarded supplies from the Maine hospital where she was working. She positioned collection boxes in different departments, educating  nurses and housekeeping  staff to save medical supplies located in rooms of patients who were discharged. Once a patient is discharged from a room, all supplies left behind go to the trash.  For two years, she continued to gather these supplies until she  eventually reached capacity within her home. In 2009, Elizabeth rented her first storage space, and with a group of volunteers moved an inventory of more than 11,000 pounds of collected wheelchairs, crutches, wound care materials, gauze, syringes, tape, depends, gowns, alcohol wipes, etc. out of her home. This was the start of Partners for World Health (PWH).

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Having grown up on the Maine coast, Elizabeth received her education from American University and Northeastern University and graduate degrees from University of Southern Maine and Boston University School of Medicine and Public Health and a Doctorate in Public Service (Hon) from St. Joseph College. She has also been awarded the Boston University School of Medicine and Public Health Alumni Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2020) and in 2023 was made a Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of New England. Elizabeth is a Registered Nurse with a focus on health care administration and international health improvement by strengthening the supply chain.

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She has been honored with many awards over the years, including the Red Cross Real Hero Award in 2011, the Northeastern University Social Entrepreneurship Award in 2014, and was recognized as a “Leader and Luminary” by Camden National Bank in 2016. Elizabeth was the winner of the 2017 Myra Kraft Community MVP Award by the Patriots Charitable Foundation and UNE’s 2019 Deborah Morton Society Award for Outstanding Community Service in Maine. She was featured alongside PWH in Oprah Magazine’s 2019 “Love the Planet” issue, received the MaineBiz Women Leader Award in 2020, the SOURCE Award for Sustainability in 2021, and the Eco-Maine Excellence in Sustainability Award in 2022. Elizabeth has also received international recognition for her work in healthcare and education abroad from various countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Senegal, Türkiye, & Uganda.

 

Potential presentation topics include:

 

Partnering for a Sustainable Future; Local Effort, Global Impact; Keynote: Nursing & Global Public Health